"We heard a day full of extraordinary presentations of a complex real estate,
arena, construction time lines, potential obstacles and team funding in two
really great cities," Stern said. "It was a long day without any breaks, and
both sides made in my view very, very strong presentations."

The league may not make up its mind as to the future location of the Kings
until after the Board of Governors meeting April 18-19.

"They're pushing us, and I guess all that we want to say about that is that
we're doing it as fast as we collectively can together, and it made well slide
past the board meeting, but I wouldn't expect it if it does to slide by a lot,
because there's a combined interest in having some clarity come to this
situation," Stern said.

The family of Kings co-owner George Maloof agreed in January to sell the team
to the Seattle group, which includes Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer.
But the NBA said the deal needs league approval.

"We're optimistic," Hansen said. "The ownership group is very enthusiastic,
and we appreciate the NBA has got a tough decision to make, and we're hopeful
for an outcome in our favor."

Meanwhile, Sacramento city council recently voted in favor of a term sheet
between the city and their investor group to allow the Kings to have a new
arena in Downtown Sacramento.

"I feel like the owners are very clear on what Sacramento's ownership group is
willing to do to keep this group in Sacramento, that's the first thing,
playing to win," Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson said. "And then secondly,
George Maloof was in the room, and it was something that we all welcomed. I
mean, this should be very transparent. They're the ones who have a franchise
and have to ultimately make a decision on accepting a backup offer or another
offer if Seattle doesn't pan out, and we were pleased to be able to share our
story in front of them."

The total development cost for the Sacramento arena is an estimated $447
million, with a variety of city resources paying for $258 million of the
total.

Seattle has been without an NBA team since the SuperSonics left for Oklahoma
City following the 2007-08 campaign. The Sonics were an expansion franchise in
1967-68.

Stern said expansion of another franchise isn't in the cards to solve this
issue.

"Right now expansion sort of on horseback, so to speak, is not a prudent way
to run a league," Stern said. "Without knowing what you're selling, what the
next TV deal is worth, what the full scope of international is, what our
social media, digital rights, etc., to cut off a chunk of that and have an
expansion is just imprudent on a quick decision. It doesn't mean that at some
time in the future it isn't potentially on the table, but right now it's not."

The Kings, meanwhile, have been in numerous cities since their inception in
1948-49. They began as the Rochester Royals until 1956-57, then stopped in
Cincinnati through 1971-72 before moving to the Midwest. They changed their
name to the KC-Omaha Kings before becoming the Kansas City Kings in 1975-76,
then moved to Sacramento for the start of the 1985-86 season.